Irish ayes

The old Chelsea Pub in Rice Village was a wonderful place to hang out, peopled as it was with so many great characters. Some of the most colorful — Dolores, John, I’m talking about you — were Irish ex-pats. I loved their stories, and I loved the accents they told them in. They inspired my own trip to Ireland in 1999.

Chelsea Pub is long closed, and John has moved to Canada. But I know he’ll be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day next Tuesday, toasting the occasion with a pint of Guiness. He’ll hardly be alone:

More than 3.5 million pints are poured on St. Patrick’s Day in the United States, compared to about 600,000 on a normal day; an estimated 13 million pints will be consumed throughout the world.

The festivities begin this weekend, with the downtown St. Patrick’s Day parade at noon on Saturday. It begins and ends near Minute Maid Park.

On Sunday, don’t forget the huge 1960 parade. Organizers expect up to 80,000 people to watch this year.

The parade begins at 2 p.m. at the Wells Fargo parking lot at Champions Forest Drive and FM 1960 , and ends at The Boat Seafood Restaurant at the corner of FM 1960 and Kuykendahl. To prepare for the big event, the road will officially close at 1 p.m., and if all goes as planned, completely reopen around 5 p.m.